The Importance of Sensory Play with Toddlers & Preschoolers

Posted by Lisa Prins on November 04, 2019

Sensory play involves utilizing your sense of smell, sight, hearing, taste, and touch to help you learn about the world around you. The more senses one uses, the more likely they will remember what they are doing. For example, think of a childhood memory. What do you remember? One of my fondest memories as a child was going to my grandma's house every other Sunday and putting on a fashion show with my sister using all of my grandmother's clothes, high heels, and jewelry. I distinctly remember her rose scented soap, the pinch of my earlobe every time I clipped on one of her earrings, and how my feet would slosh back and forth in her too big high heels. I remember running around the corner in the kitchen and being "cutting board height" because I would hit my head every.single.time I would try to run under it.

So when our children are playing in our sensory bins, their cognition is exploding as they explore the world around them. What exactly are our toddlers and preschoolers learning when they are playing in a sensory bin?

Math and Science Skills:

Pouring

Measuring

Gravity

Floating/sinking

Counting

Patterns

Weight

Size

Language and Literacy

Expanding and developing vocabulary

Refining fine motor skills essential to writing

Building language and learning about grammar

Social Skills When Playing with Others at the Sensory Bin:

Problem solving and conflict resolution

How to share different tools and manipulatives

Pretend play with others

Great! Now what? Let Tinkering Toddler Crates take the prep work and planning out of the mix for you. We think sensory play is uber important, too, so we include at least one sensory activity in each crate and that means all the materials to do it too! Shop past crates here and subscribe here.

In our Wild Turkey Crate, we include two sensory activities. The first is making Mr. Gobble's Hideout. Learn how to make DIY pumpkin scented play dough, make a play andd turkey, and then use the bag of loose parts to build his hideout. The second activity is a Wild Turkey Sensory Craft. For this one, you will go on a fall color hunt collecting different leaves and plants that are fall colors. Each of these items will have different textures. Then use these found items to make a tactile sensory turkey craft. You can find our Wild Turkey Crate here.